The Week in Review

This week concludes our sixth straight week of guests with girlfriends and friends all heading home as Caroline and Gena departed this weekend and Kris and Tara head back tomorrow leaving Eric and I behind with lots of great memories and a house full of sand.  Our place will be quiet and a little lonely but hopefully will be clean for the first time in weeks as we’ve got a cleaning person coming in the morning to try and restore our place back to a recognizable state after acting as base camp for the ten guests we’ve just hosted.   This leaves Eric and I back to our normal routine, as we try and remember what normal is, until the next wave of guests arrives later this month.  As for our routine, I recall something about a fishbowl with lots of biking, yoga and windsurfing but this week the gold fish were playing in something more closely resembling a Habitrail that included new activities and even spanning out to islands beyond Maui.

We started the week with a long hike in the West Maui mountains.   Eric and I having now done the bamboo forest hike three times, which our buddy Skip had recommended weeks back, went back to the well to ask Skip for another recommendation.  Skip did not disappoint again with a much different type of hike but equally spectacular.  This trek had the calves burning as we ascended over 3000 feet on the 2.5 mile path which provided some incredible views before reaching the clouds where our visibility was limited to just a few feet around.  The trail included many switch backs over looking lush gullies where many helicopter tours take their passengers for scenic viewing.  We did see several helicopter tours go by and at times were hiking at the same altitude as these whirlybirds but it seems we had the better deal still getting the stunning views of the mountains, the ocean and surrounding towns but without coughing up the $275 / hour fees you have to pay to see these views without breaking a sweat.  We did break a sweat on the ascent making the entrance into the clouds refreshing as we reached the summit in a sea of mist before heading back down.

Monday morning Caroline and I headed down to South Maui for some SCUBA diving at Molikini crater.  We went out with the same boat that I’d been out with a couple weeks back as they take small groups and push off at 6 AM to beat the crowds and is well worth the early rise.  Our first dive we hit a part of the crater known as “shark wall” a reef about 50 feet below the surface that is normally home to large families of reef sharks.  The name turned out to be accurate as just after we submerged we were greeted by a family of 30 gray tipped reef sharks as we passed over the wall.  Several came pretty close and one was even nipping at Caroline’s fin although we didn’t let her know about that until we were well on our way back to shore.  The highlight of the dive came moments later when the mother of this school of smaller sharks swam by to check on her young ones and she was a good seven feet in length.  Strangely it is exhilarating to see a seven foot shark when you are diving but I know if I saw one that size while windsurfing I would need the new wet suit put out by Depends.  I must have had some adrenaline rush when she went by though as I looked down at my gauge and realized I was sucking down my oxygen at quite a clip.  With my heavy breathing Caroline and I had to surface about 10 minutes before the rest of the folks in our group even though she climbed in the boat with more than half a tank left.
 
Once safe on land and with my breathing back to a normal pace, we headed back to the north shore to catch up with Kris and Eric who were completing their second kite surfing lesson.  This time the wind stayed solid throughout the lesson and they ended up spending nearly five hours with Craig working with the kites and actually getting out on  kite boards this time around.  We watched both Kris and Eric power up the kites, dragging and swallowing mouthfuls of salt water but by the end of the lesson each could control the kite well enough to hit some water starts getting up on the boards and actually do some controlled kiting.  This had Kris and Eric wearing big smiles and of course talking about adding a new kite and board to the quiver of sailing gear that already requires two trailers to house back home.  Watching their progress and listening to the excitement as they recapped every detail of the lesson has me even more curious about the sport and I plan to get back out with Craig soon to make up the ground I lost while playing with the sharks. 

We then regrouped at Camp One and headed out for a late afternoon of windsurfing.  Late in the day Gena was hitting her water starts in both directions and ripping across the water while Eric, Kris and I were playing in the waves as I noticed a familiar sailor go by at speeds close to MACH I.  It turns out Robby Naish, yes the Babe Ruth of windsurfing, hosted a conference this week at Camp One and was out for a late session on the water.  After the sighting I raced back towards the beach where I found Kris and screamed at the top of my lounges “I think Naish is out on the water!”  As I screamed, I noticed several of our neighbors coming out of the woodwork with cameras, binoculars and awed stares looking out to see the show.  Naish threw some incredible moves including a huge forward loop right near Eric at which point Eric proclaimed, “this could be one of the best days of my life, I kite surfed for the first time, Gena hit water starts in both directions and is sailing better than ever and Robby Naish threw a loop right in my face.”  Of course all Gena heard was “best days of my life, blah blah blah blah, Gena hit water starts in both directions and is sailing better than ever blah blah blah blah blah…”  What men say and what women hear are two different things even in windsurfing.

On Tuesday, Eric and Gena departed Maui to spend three days on the island of Kauai which sounded like a spectacular journey as describes Eric in his recap (go to recap and pictures) .  I still have yet to leave the island of Maui since arriving on May 1 but after learning of Eric and Gena’s trip I hope to explore more of Hawaii in the coming weeks.  As they headed to the airport to catch the puddle jumper to Kauai, Caroline and went the other direction to Paia for a Yoga class with Nadia.  We ended up being the only two in class and Caroline being a yogini extraordinaire bonded quickly with Nadia and the two were acting like old friends by the end of class.  Meanwhile I was dripping sweat and again gasping for air as Nadia had us in class for two and half hours.  The wind was mellow that afternoon as was I after the yoga marathon so Kris and I sat on the beach watching a bunch of world class kite surfers from the Naish conference throwing insane tricks in the light wind.  Having now had a better taste of kiting, Kris was in awe and seems to be closer and closer to making a purchase and adding another extreme hobby to his long list.

Wednesday brought another new activity as Kris and Tara and Caroline and I headed towards the waves of West Maui to do a little surfing, this time without a sail.   Caroline and I took a lesson with a local dude, Spike, at Puomana park where the waves were steady but not overwhelming and it didn’t take long before we were both able to stand on the boards and ride the waves all the way in to the beach.  Kris and Tara opted for the more traditional method of learning and just rented boards and paddled out to the other surfers to watch and learn.  Both were also up on the boards quickly and while this sport is quite different from windsurfing it is easy to see how a similar addiction is possible.  One big difference about surfing from windsurfing is the amount of time spent sitting on the boards waiting for the sets of waves to roll in which is probably why surfers take on a mellow, patient and friendly attitude and there was definitely a good camaraderie amongst locals and visitors floating around on the surf boards. 

Thursday Caroline and I headed back to west Maui to catch another SCUBA boat out to the coast of Lanai, the Hawaiian island that is well known for its SCUBA and for having hosted Bill Gates’ wedding several years ago.  Apparently that weekend guests and staff of the Gates’ wedding were the only ones to habitate the island as they booked every single room on Lanai to ensure privacy.  As I did not make the short list for his wedding, despite being an avid user of many Microsoft products, I have not yet set foot on the island but have enjoyed the beauty of its coast from our SCUBA vessel.  We dove a spot called Cathedral II which is a series of catacombs that you dive into, submerging into darkness and then following the beams of light to find the other hallways and entrances to the underwater cathedral.  It was pretty wild being in this underwater maze sometimes feeling completely surrounded by rock and coral but fortunately my breathing was a little more controlled on these dives and we were able to surface with the rest of the group.

We wrapped up the week with one last group activity, a sunrise drive to the 10,000 foot summit of the Haleakala crater.  We were told that watching the sunrise from atop Haleakala can be like a religious experience and so when my alarm went off at 3:30 all I could do is wonder why all religious experiences have to involve getting up early.  Maybe religion would be more popular in our country if it started at a more reasonable hour and included some sort of tasty brunch.  In any case, we drove up to the summit to find bone chilling cold and darkness when we arrived and huddled to keep warm with hundreds of others waiting for this majestic sunrise.  At this altitude we were well above the clouds and so as the sun raised the rays created sharp colors in the clouds and when the sun appeared above the clouds it was quite stunning although I wouldn’t exactly say it was religious at least not for this Jew. However, after the sunrise we did regroup at Charley’s in Paia for pancakes and eggs so I did get my brunch after all.

Best comments from last week:

Nur (Dougy’s mom), Florida

“Hi Guys, I've been enjoying reading the J.E.W. so much that I'll miss it when you head back home in August.  I've had some great belly laughs, especially about Eric & the super-glue/flip-flops escapade!   I was just about rolling on the floor with laughter! Like Laura, I'm an ice cream junkie, too.  I love it when we're all together visiting, then I have Laura as a partner in crime & Doug, who usually could care less about getting ice cream, doesn't have a chance. The pictures have been great, too; you all look terrific out there!  I'm still in awe of all the energy you all display---must be that yoga stuff!! Happy you have all had such a great time---Hawaii is truly God's paradise! Keep the stories/pictures coming.”

Marc, Boston, MA

“It appears that your reader pool must have really dwindled if you are posting comments from Brian (aka the glass is half empty) from Charlotte, N.C.  I would much rather you devote that space to more pictures of the woman from week 9 who won the freestyle event.”

Jamie, Utah

(edited) [I live in a ski town that is 90% male.  Help a dude out – more pictures like the women from the freestyle event in week 9]